Monday, April 19, 2010

It's not complicated

During the conflict in Gaza, my daughter Skye showed me a letter, written on behalf of those Jews who felt uncomfortable with some of the official statements, released by the Chief Rabbinate in explanation of events unfolding in Israel.

We decided to sign the letter, which suggested that as a diverse community, there were Jews willing to offer a different voice to the broadly sterile, uniformity of the official one. We signed, believing that we would be adding our names to a list of thousands.

Instead, only a few dozen signatures were collected, and our names appeared on it, in the newspaper, very visible to all.

In synagogue, one Shabbas a congregant refused to shake Mr Nielson better know as Sid's hand, admonishing him with, "Can't you control your wife and daughter?". It took a while for Mr Nielson to understand what he was talking about!

Such is the power of the collective.

It's hard to criticize Israel. Hard to do so, knowing that there are so many groups with a different, sinister agenda willing do that for you;vociferously and with prejudice.

It feels like a betrayal.

An unfaithfulness.

But being Jewish, means holding yourself accountable. It means being true to the values of the Torah, it means being a light...

And sometimes it means speaking your truth, even when it is uncomfortable, and unpopular to do so.

When Judge Goldstone agreed to lead the enquiry into human rights abuse during the Gaza conflict, he made an error in judgement. It was expedient for the United Nations to make use of a Jew, to increase the credibility of their report.

War is ugly.

It is always the underbelly.

Even with the best of intentions, shameful acts will occur. It is the nature of the beast. But holding Jews up to a different standard then other nations is what makes the report questionable. Where is the indictment against the atrocities of conflict in Africa, Asia and the Middle East?

If the Jew is to be the Light, then the darkness needed to extinguish it, must be relentless.

And it is...

This makes our efforts to spread our Light all the more urgent, and necessary.

When the Zionist Federation threatened to protest, outside the synagogue where Judge Goldstone's grandson is to perform his bar Mitzvah next Shabbas, that Light was dimmed.

When the Chief Rabbi, endorsed the suggestion that Judge Goldstone not attend the bar Mitzvah to prevent disruption of this sacred rite of passage, he dimmed that light further...